Loom.



G. A. AYER.

LOOM.

APPLICAHON men 050.19. 1914.

1 1 82,959. Patented May 16, 1916.

A E F" WiTnesses. \nven'for. d. George A.Ayer,

AUys.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE A. AYER, OF EASTHAMPTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

Loom.

Application filed December To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE citizen of the United States, and resident of Easthampton, county of Hampshire, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Looms, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like characters on the drawing representing like parts.

This invention relates to improvements in looms and the general object thereof is to provide means for causing the filling threads or members of a woven fabric to lie in straight lines normal to the selvage edges of the fabric.

In the usual type of loom the temples which engage the selvage edges of the fabric maintain the web of fabric, adjacent to the point at which the successive filling threads or members are beaten up, under tension so that the web is stretched somewhat beyond its width as finally wound upon the cloth roll. This causes a greater tension upon the warp threads at and adj acent to the edges of the fabric than upon those throughout the center portion of the web. WVhen the lay beats up the filling therefore the filling threads are more closely compacted together at the edges of the web in a tightly woven fabric than they are throughout the central portion of the web. This results in a slight curving of the threads throughout the central portion of the fabrics In cloth or fabric used for on dinary purposes this may be quite unimportant but if the fabric is used under conditions in which it is necessary that each member of the filling and of the warp shall resist equal tensile strains it is necessary that the fabric be so woven that each filling thread or member shall cross each warp member precisely at right angles and therefore that the filling threads shall in the finished product lie in straight lines normal to the selvage edges. This requirement is particularly essential where the fabric is used to reinforce automobile tires. In such cases it is customary to cut from the web of fabric strips extending diagonally across the breadth thereof at an angle of 45 degrees. These strips of fabric are then laid in place in the body of the tire, the edges being wrapped about or otherwise secured to the bead or embodied in the edges of the tire. The fabric thus embedded in the tire Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 16, 1916.

19,1914. Seria1No.878,190. I

comprises a series of interlaced threads A. AYER, aglying at right angles to each other, each fthread or member being at an angle of 45 degrees to the vertical plane of the tread so that each member of the filling and warp thread is adapted to resist equally any strain of distortion of the tire. If however the filling threads curve or are not straight and of equal length to the warp threads the fabric will unequally resist the strains of distortion so that the tire will not be properly and symmetrically reinforced.

The present invention in the preferred form illustrated herein comprises means for equalizing the tension upon the warp threads during the weaving operation by exerting a greater and preferably a progressively increased tension upon the warp threads from the end of the warp beam toward its center so that the amount of tension upon the intermediate threads will be the same as that placed upon the selvage threads and those adjacent thereto during the weaving operation.

Other objects of the invention and the nature thereof will more fully appear from the following description and the accompanying drawing and will be pointed out in the annexed claims.

One of the preferred embodiments of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing in which Figure l is a vertical sectional View of the front of a loom showing the breast beam, the tape-up roll and the cloth roll and the means for applying increased tension to certain of the warp threads, the warp beam and weaving mechanism having been omitted. Fig. 2 is a plan View showing the web of cloth being woven and a preferred form of convenient means for giving greater tension to the warp threads at the middle of the web of cloth and at its selvage edges, and Fig. 3 is a detail view of a roll forming part of the tension mechanism aforesaid.

This invention may be applied to a usual 1 thence around the take-up roll, and suitable guide rolls to the cloth roll upon which the web is finally wound. In such case the cloth roll and take up roll are cylindrical in form and the edge of the breast beam presents an edge parallel to the surface of the take-up roll so that if the warp threads extend in absolutely straight lines from the warp beam, not shown, to the cloth roll all the warp threads would be under equal tension. In the weaving operation however the web of fabric is maintained taut transversely by the temples 67 which engage the woven cloth adjacent to the point at which the filling is beaten up by the lay, so that as a matter of fact the selvag'e edges 8 and 9 are diverted and the warp threads adjacent to the selvage edges are placed under a greater tension than those throughout the central portion of the fabric. As the cloth progresses and is wound up upon the cloth roll the selvage edges are brought more nearly together thus permitting a slackness throughout the central portion of the fabric which results in the curving of the filling threads so that they do not extend exactly normal to the warp threads. In order to avoid this defeet and to cause the filling threads to lie normal to the warp threads throughout the entire web of cloth I have provided a means for producing progressively increased tension upon the warp threads from the selvage toward the center to compensate for the stretching of the selvage threads. This in the preferred embodiment of the invention is accomplished by attaching to the front of the breast beam a curved guide bar 10 which desirably may have inclined straight portions l112 adjacent the end thereof united by an arcuate intermediate portion. The cloth may be led from the weaving mechanism directly over this curved guide to the take up roll, preferably however a supplemental device in the form of a tension roll 13 is interposed between the guide 10 and the take-up roll. This tension roll preferably is in the form illustrated in Fig. 3 having a central cylindrical portion 14, which desirably may be provided with a roughened or sanded coating similar to that of the takeup roll, and conical or conoidal end portions 15, said cones having less taper than the straight inclined portions l112 of the guide 10, the resultant tension upon the various warp threads in passing over the guide bar and the roll being such as to give the desired result. By the use of rolls of slightly different form the same guide bar may be utilized with sets of warps of different elasticity.

The tension roll may be supported conveniently from brackets 15 secured to the ends of the loom frame or depending from the breast beam. The web of cloth is therefore led over the breast beam, the convex guide 10, the tension roller 13, to the takeup roll, thence over an idle roller 16 to the cloth roll. The idle roller 16 desirably may be supported upon the end of an arm 17 pivotally mounted upon brackets 18 secured to the end of the loom frame or depending from the breast beam as illustrated in Fig. l.

The cloth roll 3 and also the take up roll 4 are driven in the usual manner and both of these rolls are cylindrical in form as is also the idle roll 16. During the weaving operation the take-up roll will therefore maintain a progressively increased and greater tension upon the selvage toward the cylindrical portion of the web by reason of the fact that the paths of such warp threads are greater than the paths of the selvage threads so that as the cloth is being woven the warp threads are gradually stretched more and I more from the selvages toward the center. Then, however, the woven cloth passes around the take-up roll l, which as above stated is cylindrical in form and is passed thence over the idle roll 16 to the cloth roll 3 the tension is relieved and the warp threads permitted by their elasticity to assume nor mal position. This construction serves to compensate for the usual difference in ten sion between the selvage warp threads and the intermediate warp threads so that after the contraction of the intermediate warp threads takes place the filling thread will lie in lines normal to the selvage edges of the web. In fact each filling thread will be normal to each Warp thread at the point where it crosses the same. Under these circumstances the web of cloth may be cut,in strips diagonally at an angle of 45 degrees for use in automobile tires and for like purposes and when so out and utilized in the usual manner each Warp and each filling thread will be capable of resisting the same tension strains.

It is to be understood that the mechanism i described herein is illustrative merely and that other means for accomplishing the same purpose may be constructed within the scope of the claims hereto annexed.

It is also to be understood that this invention comprises broadly providing means for applying greater tension to certain warp threads than to others during the Weaving operation for the purpose of causing a sub-,

sequent displacement of the filling threads ter during the weaving operation whereby the resultant tension upon all of the warp threads will be uniform and will cause the filling threads to lie in straight lines normal to the selvage edges in the finished cloth.

2. In a loom comprising weaving mechanism and a cloth roll, and a take-up roll intermediate of the weaving mechanism and the cloth roll, a conveXedly curved cloth guide in advance of the take-up roll adapted to produce progressively increased tension upon the warp threads from the selvage edges of the web which are engaged by the temples toward the center thereof during the weaving operation whereby the resultant tension upon the weaving threads will be uniform and will cause the filling to lie in straight lines normal to the selvage edges in the finished cloth.

3. In a loom comprising weaving mechanism, a cylindrical cloth roll and a cylindrical take-up roll and means for actuating the same and a convexedly curved cloth guide secured to the breast beam in advance of said take-up roll whereby the tension' upon the warpthreads is progressively increased from the edges of the web cloth which are engaged by the temples toward the center thereof whereby the resultant tension upon the warp threads will be uniform and will cause the filling threads to lie in straight lines normally to the selvage edges in the finished cloth.

4. In a loom comprising weaving mechanism, a cloth roll and a cylindrical take-up roll, and means for actuating the same, a convexedly curved cloth guide in advance of said take-up roll and a tension roll having tapering ends intermediate of said take-up roll and said guide whereby progressively increased tension is placed upon the warp threads from the edges of the web of cloth which are engaged by the temples toward the center thereof during the weaving operation and the resultant tension upon the warp threads maintained uniform as the cloth passes from the take-up roll to the cloth roll.

5. In a loom comprising weaving mechanism, a cloth roll and a cylindrical take-up roll, and means for actuating the same, a convexedly curved cloth guide in advance of said take-up roll, and a tension roll intermediate of said take-up roll and said guide having tapered ends of less inclination than the ends of the cloth guide and adapted to cooperate with the end portions of the guide to produce a uniformly progressively increased tension upon the warp threads from the edges of the web of cloth which are engaged by the temples toward the center thereof as the cloth is being woven.

6. In a loom comprising weaving mechanism a cloth roll and a cylindrical take-up roll, and means for actuating the same, a convexedly curved cloth guide in advance of said take-up roll and a tension roll intermediate of said take-up roll and said guide having a cylindrical central portion and tapered ends of'less inclination than the ends of the cloth guide and adapted to cooperate with the end portions of the guide to produce a uniformly progressively increased tension upon the warp threads from the edges of the web cloth which are engaged by the temples toward the center thereof as the cloth is being woven.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE A. AYER.

Witnesses:

J. SKINNER, G. ARTHUR (1001:.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of intents. Washington, D. 0. 

